When making most personnel decisions, Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway likes to pull the “best available” name off the board.

In the wake of center J.D. Walton’s latest ankle surgery, the Broncos looked at a shallow pool of available free agents at the position and signed Dan Koppen for the second time in nine months.

Koppen, an 11th-year pro who turns 34 on Sept. 12, accepted a one-year contract Thursday for $940,000. Koppen was a late addition to the Broncos last September and ended up making 13 starts after Walton suffered a fractured and dislocated left ankle.

Walton had another surgery this week to treat an infection and replace some of the screws and a plate that were put in place after he injured the ankle during a Sept. 30 game against the Oakland Raiders. He wasn’t cleared to fully practice in the Broncos’ organized team activities and minicamp this offseason, but he tried to do some of the technique drills with his teammates last week. He had significant swelling in the ankle after minicamp, so another surgery was performed.

The Broncos are optimistic Walton can return by late October or early November. But if he has complications in the treatment of the infection or in his physical rehab, he could miss the 2013 season.

Right guard Chris Kuper has had similar difficulties in his return from the fractured, dislocated ankle he suffered in the 2011 regular-season finale. Kuper has had multiple surgeries on the ankle, including after the 2012 season, and didn’t participate in the Broncos’ offseason program.

Kuper missed nine regular-season games last season in his struggle to bounce back from his original surgery.

Koppen joins Manny Ramirez, Philip Blake and C.J. Davis on the Denver depth chart at center. Koppen must learn the tweaks the team has made to the playbook under first-year offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

The Broncos believe Koppen has been working out to maintain his conditioning level in anticipation of signing with a team. They expect the Boston College product will come to training camp ready to participate. Players report for training camp July 24.

WASHINGTON — Thirty games into the 82-game NHL season, and nearly six weeks after the Matt Duchene trade, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic discussed the state of his team before Tuesday’s 5-2 loss at the Washington Capitals.